The Dallas Mavericks kicked off the first game of a back-to-back Monday night, with their first opponent being the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves got the better end of a 124-94 decision.
Let’s get to the grades!
Ryan Nembhard: C+
8 PTS / 3 REB / 5 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 20 MIN
Like so many other Mavs not named Daniel Gafford, Nembhard could not find the range, connecting on only 3-for-10 shots overall. He had one of those magical assist nights relative to minutes played and turnovers (zero), but nothing special was happening for him tonight.
Max Christie: C-
3 PTS / 4 REB / 0 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK – 28 MIN
About the only thing
going for Christie Monday night was his rebounding. Getting four boards from the guard spot isn’t too shabby, but it still wasn’t enough to pretty up a 1-for-5 shooting night and not much else.
Cooper Flagg: C
12 PTS / 4 REB / 1 AST / 0 STL / 2 BLK – 31 MIN
Flagg will likely be happy the Mavs are on the first night of a back-to-back, so he can forget this one and move on. Connecting on only 5-for-19 overall, Flagg had a shocking plus/minus of minus-35. It just simply was not his night.
Khris Middleton: C+
9 PTS / 6 REB / 1 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK – 23 MIN
Middleton struggled with his shot (4-for-10) and had an insane five turnovers. He managed to chip in a bit just about everywhere else, but this wasn’t his best night by any stretch of the imagination.
Daniel Gafford: B+
21 PTS / 8 REB / 2 AST / 0 STL / 1 BLK – 24 MIN
Gafford has been playing well over the last month or so, and tonight was no exception. Despite sitting out the last two games, Gafford looked like he was in peak form and was by far the best player for Dallas Monday night. He picked up a nice handful of fouls (four), and bricked a staggering number of free throws (3-for-8 from the charity stripe) but otherwise played well on 9-for-11 shooting, coming just short of a double-double.
Dwight Powell: B
9 PTS / 8 REB / 2 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK – 23 MIN
Powell had himself a solid night, tying for the team lead in rebounds. He brought the energy he is well known for at this point in his career and even played solid defense at points. The most noteworthy part of his night is how he got his points. 9-for-10 from the free throw line and zero shot attempts may be an NBA first. If not, it’s certainly a bizarrely anomalous night.
Brandon Williams: B
15 PTS / 6 REB / 7 AST / 2 STL / 0 BLK – 28 MIN
His 4-for-10 shooting may have stood out as sub-par if nearly everyone else on the team wasn’t worse. Despite iffy shooting, Williams hit all six of his free throw attempts and dished a team-high assist total.
Final thoughts
The Mavs hung around for a fair bit of the game, but things really came unglued in the third quarter where a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it span resulted in the Mavs looking at a 24-point deficit by the midway point of the quarter. Things only got worse from there. The three ball and fast breaks really did them in and the thin lineup (missing P.J. Washington and Naji Marshall) didn’t give the Mavs much chance to stem the tide.
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